Baked fish dinners can be so dull. Not this one! Think – spaghetti puttanesca flavours in the form of a one pan fish dinner. It’s a Puttanesca fish tray bake! Good for you, easy to make, fabulously delicious.
No more dull baked fish dinners!
This is a dinner inspired by pasta puttanesca – minus the spaghetti, multiple pots and stove splatter. The sauce has all the trademarks – tomato, olives, capers, even anchovies (!) – but it’s baked on one tray with fish, potatoes to fill it out and fennel for a grown up touch.
It’s a complete meal, colourful, good for you, vibrant, and anything but boring. I throw this last line in because I spent my twenties convinced fish couldn’t be tasty unless it had been seared or fried. This recipe would’ve changed my mind!
Ingredients you need for this tray bake dinner
Here’s what you need to make this Puttanesca fish tray bake.
White fish fillets
I use barramundi in this recipe. The meaty and juicy flesh makes it ideal for the assertive Mediterranean flavour of the puttanesca-ish sauce, and the fillets are thick enough to make them suitable for cooking in the oven.
But any firm, white fish fillets about 2.5 – 3 cm/1″ thick will work a treat here. See below for a list.
Suitable fish for this recipe FAQ
This recipe is suitable for most fish fillets around 2.5cm/1″ thick. We need it that thick so it doesn’t cook through too quickly before the glaze has a chance to caramelise (~18 minutes).
Fillets this thick will generally come off a larger fish. Here are some suggestions:
Jewfish (mulloway)
Snapper (if a large fish)
Hoki
Tilapia – the thick part (reduce oven cook time to 12 minutes)
Cod (any)
Grouper
Monkfish
Halibut
Pollock (aka coley)
Ling
Emperor
Striped bass (not all bass is suitable), hake, gummy shark
Salmon or ocean trout also work but there might be too much flavour going on as the glaze is quite intense!
Remember, the shape of fish means that you get thick cuts from the main body as well as thin cuts from towards the tail. Opt for the thicker cuts!
I recommend avoiding:
Fish that dry out easily when cooked – Like swordfish, tuna, bonito, kingfish, marlin, mackerel. Unless you’re extremely careful they can become dry inside so are very prone to overcooking in the oven. I feel these fish are (mostly) better in raw/rare form such as Ceviche, Poke Bowls, Tartare, Tuna Steak;
Oily, “fishy” fish – Like mullet and sardines.
Either is fine, it really won’t affect the bake time. But the skin won’t be crispy. If this is a turn-off for you, just eat the flesh and leave the skin.S
Fish like flounder, sole, plaice, whiting, bream, dory, basa, hoki, flathead, deep sea perch (Orange Roughy). Because these fillets are thinner, longer and/or narrower than barramundi and similar fillets, they will cook faster. So leave the tray with the puttanesca sauce and potato on it in the oven for an extra 5 minutes before adding the fish, and check the fish for doneness at the 10 minute mark.
for the Puttanesca SAUCE
Here’s what you need for the puttanesca-ish part – most of the ingredients used in puttanesca plus potatoes to bulk it out and fennel for flavour and a touch of grown-up sweetness (it’s really good, urge you not to skip it!).
Anchovies – Addressing this right up front because I know it’s a divisive ingredient! But they really do add savouriness, and it’s a key ingredient in Puttanesca. Think of it as the better salt. But, if you’re very anti-anchovies, you can either reduce to 1 anchovy or substitute with 1 teaspoon fish sauce or 1/4 tsp extra cooking salt / kosher salt.
Fennel – I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s such an under-utilised vegetable! It has subtle aniseed flavour which adds freshness and interest to dishes, it’s economical most of the year round and easy to cut. It deserves way more love in everyday cooking!
Baby capers and kalamata olives – Lovely briny pops that add tang and salt into the sauce as it bakes. I use baby capers because they’re smaller – if using regular capers, just give them a rough chop. And I prefer kalamata over regular black olives as they are softer and have better flavour.
Baby potatoes – Or regular potatoes, peeled, and cut. Any type of potato is fine here.
Canned tomato – This is the primary ingredient that creates the sauce for this dish.
Cherry or grape tomatoes – These add pops of juicy bursts in the sauce. They cook through enough so they are soft but are still holding together when they come out of the oven.
Garlic – Of course it’s in. 3 big cloves!
Oregano – For background flavour without competing with all the other flavours.
Chilli flakes – Also called red pepper flakes, the recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon which is barely enough for a mild level of spiciness. Feel free to omit – or add more! You can also add your favourite chilli sauce when eating, if you want more heat.
Basil (optional!) – Yes, if you’ve got a basil bush in your backyard, it is a great finish for this dish. But don’t let the absence of basil hold you back from making this! Excellent substitutes – parsley (any kind), chives (just a light sprinkle).
How to make Puttanesca fish tray bake dinner
I know most simple tray bake dinners call for everything to go into the oven at once, but this one is a 3-stage bake: potatoes first, then the puttanesca sauce, and finally the fish (we don’t want to overcook it!). It actually flows nicely – you leisurely prep the next component while the last one bakes, and have time to put your feet up with a glass of wine in between.
Potatoes first – Toss the potatoes with oil, salt and pepper. Then pop in the oven to give them a 20 minute head start.
Puttanesca sauce (stew?) next – Mix up the puttanesca sauce ingredients (the canned tomato, veg, dried oregano, olives, capers and anchovies). Then add it to the tray and bake for another 10 minutes. Note: the mixture doesn’t look very saucy but once baked and combined with the juices from the fish, you will have plenty of sauce.
Top with fish – Then put the fish on top, drizzle everything with olive oil and bake for another 15 minutes or until the fish flakes easily.
Serve – Sprinkle with basil (if using) and the reserved fennel fronds. And that’s it – dinner’s up!
Matters of serving
I always feel like thick semi-stewy sort of dishes like this are crying out for crusty bread that you can stuff, and use for dunking and mopping, or crispy crostini for scooping and piling. Though actually, the potato in this dish fills it out so even without bread, the portion servings are decent. Let’s say without bread it’s a sensible serving size. With bread, it’s a generous serving size.
You could also increase the amount of potato in this to fill it out more and serve without bread. Or serve it over another starchy vehicle of choice – pasta, couscous (plain – no nuts, herbs, fruit or lemon), or rice (plain, or try garlic rice!).
So many possibilities…..share your thoughts! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Puttanesca Fish Tray Bake
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Total: 1 hour
Mains
Western
Servings4
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Instructions
Preheat oven to 220°C/390°F (200°C fan-forced).
Roast potatoes: In a large mixing bowl, toss the potatoes with the oil, salt and pepper. Spread on a baking tray with a rim at least 2cm/0.8" high (or 23x33cm / 9×13" pan). Roast for 20 minutes.
Puttanesca sauce: Meanwhile, mix all the sauce ingredients together (use the potato bowl, no need to clean). Add to the tray, toss with the potatoes, return to the oven for 10 minutes.
Season fish: Pat the fish dry with paper towels. Sprinkle each side with the salt and pepper.
Bake fish: Place fish on top of puttanesca sauce. Drizzle all over with the 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil. Bake 15 minutes or until fish is just cooked through (it should flake easily).
Serve: Remove from the oven. Drizzle with a bit more olive oil, scatter with basil and reserved fennel fronds. Serve with warm, crusty bread!
Recipe Notes:
- Suitable for this recipe – any firm white fish fillets that are ~2.5cm/1″ thick including: cod (any), emperor (grouper), gummy shark, hake, halibut, jewfish (mulloway), ling, monkfish, ocean trout, pollock (aka coley), salmon, snapper, stripe bass, tilapia – the thick part.
- Small thin fish fillets (bream, dory) and long narrow fish (cod) – cooks faster, see Ingredients section in post for recipe adjustment.
- Avoid: lean fish (swordfish, tuna, kingfish), oily fish (mackerel, sardines).
Nutrition Information:
Calories: 433cal (22%)Carbohydrates: 42g (14%)Protein: 36g (72%)Fat: 15g (23%)Saturated Fat: 2g (13%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 71mg (24%)Sodium: 1426mg (62%)Potassium: 1976mg (56%)Fiber: 8g (33%)Sugar: 9g (10%)Vitamin A: 772IU (15%)Vitamin C: 60mg (73%)Calcium: 135mg (14%)Iron: 4mg (22%)
Life of Dozer
Look who starred on Better Homes & Gardens last Friday! 🥰
As his personal assistant, I was caught on camera once or twice too, along with Mama RecipeTin and our very own JB. Hard to say who stole the show – Mama RecipeTin by declaring herself the winner in the gyoza wrapping competition and that “everybody else comes last” (I mean, who says that to a famous person like Johanna Griggs??! 🤦🏻♀️)……..
……or JB for his show-off appetiser he made especially for the host Johanna Griggs – a crispy kataifi wrapped scampi (langoustine) with a yuzu beurre blanc, green shiso oil and a crispy shiso leaf. French X Japanese fusion for the homemade Japanese feast we did for the show!
As for Mr Dozer, I’m disappointed to report that his usual professional behaviour slipped up somewhat. Let’s just say there were a few diva moments, howling dramatically if he was not in shot or physically glued to my side. Clearly, he didn’t like being on the sidelines.
It even got to the point where he was ruining takes – just look at JB’s face in the photo below as Dozer howls mid-filming. So, we had to assign someone the very important (full-time) job of being the official Dozer silencer. That lucky person was Candice, my publicist from Pan Macmillan (my publisher). Poor thing had to endure smelly old-man Dozer breath huffed and barked in her face all afternoon! 😂
To catch up, you can watch it here on 7Plus. (I’m sorry to say it’s not available for overseas viewers though I will ask the BHG team if we can arrange something.)
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